political perspectives from Joni Hudson-Reynolds, an African-American Mom

Megyn Kelly says Dajerria Becton was “no saint”…if she was would Officer Casebolt have spared her?

She was “no saint”. Fox News Megyn Kelly used this phrase when describing Dajerria Becton. She was the girl assaulted by Officer Casebolt at the pool party in McKinney, Texas. We hear Becton described as a young woman by some news outlets but the fact is she is a girl. A 14 or 15 year old is a minor, a child in the eyes of the law. Too often black people develop a false sense of security when they live in the tony suburbs of our nation. This is not Ferguson or the west side of Baltimore. This is a place that black and white people live and where their children probably attend the same schools. Many of these young people have been raised to ask questions and to question or challenge authority. Not that i am condoning disrespect of authority but questioning is not unlawful. So when I hear someone say she was not saint I think of the young boys and men who have been shot by the police and this same phrase has been used a description and in some cases a justification for the use of force. My question is when did sainthood become a pre-requisite to not being attacked by the police? When I see that girl being slammed to the ground I see my daughter and it is heartbreaking. We often talk about having the talk with our children. We have to give them the rules of engagement but the rules are forever evolving, but has the talk simply become a generational curse that we keep passing on. isn’t it time to break the curse, shelve the rules and finally take a stand? Share your thoughts.

Comments

The answer to your question is the policeman would not have had a reason to spare her because she would not have behaved that way had she been a saint. And in the unlikely event that such an encounter occurred with a saint it is improbable that it would have escalated to that point. To be fair, the context in which that phrase was uttered needs to be considered. What I gleaned from that comment is that Kelley was suggesting that the young girl’s behavior was a contributing factor in the fracas not that she was too unholy to be spared. The other cases you refer to share that same assertion, those individual were not saints meaning their behavior was a contributory factor in their outcomes as well.

Asking questions of the police is not illegal but resisting or defying lawful commands is. Adults should be very careful about offering excuses for the unruly and defiant behavior of young people who have no respect for authority. It could be the catalyst that get them killed.

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